A letter from our CEO and founder
More Than A Fest Campaign photography by Ella Mae Ward
In 2017, Black Girl Fest was born as a response to the lack of visibility of Black women’s voices in the UK. Never before had an event so perfectly aligned our desire to see ourselves be radically celebrated. Over the years, we’ve engaged with thousands of you, creating memorable moments but most importantly evolving. We are ever-changing and adapting with our community, so this next phase reflects that fluidity.
Same us, bigger vision
Our first three years were spent producing iconic festival experiences all whilst still operating as a side project to a full-time job. Covid and the social shifts that followed challenged us to think differently about community, connection and growth.
Although the last two years have been one of the most challenging times in our society, our friends, families and community have shown us that our value and impact go beyond a singular event. The challenge for us was figuring out who and what we would become in a post-covid world. Unlike many businesses that unfortunately closed down, we knew that Black Girl Fest had to evolve to thrive.
At the start of 2021, we strategically pivoted the business to test this new business model. What was abundantly clear was how our brand, values and people make up an ecosystem that interestingly placed us at the core. Our work quickly shifted into becoming a purpose-driven business, dedicated to our community.
During this period, we realised that our vision is a world where our community is thriving and to see it, we have to spark change across economic, social and educational spaces. To carry out this work, we need to build projects with purpose to help create a better future for our community in this generation and the next.
We’ve been working like working women
Over the last 18 months, we’ve hired a brilliant new team, moved into a beautiful office & event space, established our CIC arm, launched multiple programmes and built our very own web app + many more milestones than we could have dreamed of.
Today, we are excited to share our new brand identity, website and web app platform to celebrate how we have become ‘more than a fest’. Our new campaign speaks to this stage of growth for BGF highlighting all the fantastic work we’ve been doing amidst so much uncertainty. Our transition from a side project into a fully operating 6-figure business is incredibly exciting for us - A moment we are thrilled to share.
It’s the glow up for us
We took our time to carefully consider every detail of our brand to give BGF a new, sleek and futuristic look that reflects the progressive energy of the work that we do. In addition, each project now has it's own recognisable, fun and bold branding. Projects include; BGF Academy, The Club, BGF Creative Fund, BGF Studio and of course our renowned Festival.
We live and breathe our culture as a business and this evolution is exciting for the future of our work, the ecosystem we’re building and our community’s growth. So get ready to see even more from us as we develop exciting NEW projects and expand our global reach.
Huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years to get us to this point. We’re so grateful for the progress that has been made and the future we’re yet to meet.
This one’s for us.
With love,
Nicole x
CEO & Founder
